Judgment. The dawn following the elder?s confrontation with Devin found him at work, hard at manual labor. He was rebuilding the wall of the mortal woman?s home, the wall that he had destroyed through his lack of control. Without word of apology to the woman or explanation, he began by clearing away the remnants and rubble of wall, its construction of mixed wood and stone making the task more difficult. And all by the labor of his hands, with none of the elemental power that could have eased the chore.
By noon, three of the younger elementals, those who followed his example and listened to his words, had joined him. Kerinan, Astana, and Serath labored alongside Devin wordlessly. He straightened once, and confronted them. ?This is my punishment, for my failure, which you had no part in. I don?t need your aid, nor did I ask for it.? His voice was tinged with scorn, arrogant confidence that he was fully capable of the task to hand.
Serath replied as the spokesman for the trio. ?You don?t need our aid. And you didn?t ask for it. But you?ve come to help us before, when we asked and when we didn?t. It will go faster with more hands.? Devin had no answer for that, and so he nodded his assent, curtly, unused to giving thanks. The dark brown of his eyes flared and lit to gold while he turned back to the wall.
The end of the day revealed seven assisting Devin, four more joining the first trio. The wall was physically restored; the home as strong as it had ever been, then Devin turned to the second half of his judgment. This portion he had to do alone, with the full extent of his strength ? and the seven backed away at his gesture. After a moment the gold sheen of his eyes flared brighter, lighting to an incandescent white, and his hands were lifted in balled fists above his head.
Air lit around his hands, crackling and hissing as shimmering flames danced down the length of his arms to swirl around the shell of his body. Brighter, hotter, blue, white. The seven backed further from this heat, before they were consumed. He was not the youngest of the Fire Elementals, nor was he the oldest ? but his flame was among the strongest.
Strength harnessed could be useful, and now the random dance of the white-hot flames took on purpose and shape. Shimmering, flowing, crackling into wards that danced and leapt along the walls and roof of the home before they settled into the fabric of the structure and faded to invisibility. No weak spots could last with the constant motion of the fire, and the strength of the wards tapped the energies of the Fire Realm directly. Rather than channeling through the flow of magma or the burn of a forest fire, Devin had called the flames with only himself as a conduit.
It was above the call of the judgment. The elders had only told him to ward the house against fire damage, not to protect it to the extent he had. Not to build the wards into the span and being of his own existence. The judgment of the elders was harsh ? but Devin?s judgment of himself was harsher.
By noon, three of the younger elementals, those who followed his example and listened to his words, had joined him. Kerinan, Astana, and Serath labored alongside Devin wordlessly. He straightened once, and confronted them. ?This is my punishment, for my failure, which you had no part in. I don?t need your aid, nor did I ask for it.? His voice was tinged with scorn, arrogant confidence that he was fully capable of the task to hand.
Serath replied as the spokesman for the trio. ?You don?t need our aid. And you didn?t ask for it. But you?ve come to help us before, when we asked and when we didn?t. It will go faster with more hands.? Devin had no answer for that, and so he nodded his assent, curtly, unused to giving thanks. The dark brown of his eyes flared and lit to gold while he turned back to the wall.
The end of the day revealed seven assisting Devin, four more joining the first trio. The wall was physically restored; the home as strong as it had ever been, then Devin turned to the second half of his judgment. This portion he had to do alone, with the full extent of his strength ? and the seven backed away at his gesture. After a moment the gold sheen of his eyes flared brighter, lighting to an incandescent white, and his hands were lifted in balled fists above his head.
Air lit around his hands, crackling and hissing as shimmering flames danced down the length of his arms to swirl around the shell of his body. Brighter, hotter, blue, white. The seven backed further from this heat, before they were consumed. He was not the youngest of the Fire Elementals, nor was he the oldest ? but his flame was among the strongest.
Strength harnessed could be useful, and now the random dance of the white-hot flames took on purpose and shape. Shimmering, flowing, crackling into wards that danced and leapt along the walls and roof of the home before they settled into the fabric of the structure and faded to invisibility. No weak spots could last with the constant motion of the fire, and the strength of the wards tapped the energies of the Fire Realm directly. Rather than channeling through the flow of magma or the burn of a forest fire, Devin had called the flames with only himself as a conduit.
It was above the call of the judgment. The elders had only told him to ward the house against fire damage, not to protect it to the extent he had. Not to build the wards into the span and being of his own existence. The judgment of the elders was harsh ? but Devin?s judgment of himself was harsher.